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Neo Motors

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Neo Motors
Company typeBrand
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedMay 2018; 6 years ago (2018-05)
Founder
Headquarters
Aïn El Aouda
,
Morocco
Area served
Africa
Key people
Number of employees
45
Websiteneomotors.ma

Neo Motors is a Moroccan automobile manufacturing startup headquartered in Aïn El Aouda near Rabat, Morocco.[1] Founded in May 2018 by Nassim Belkhayat and Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, a prototype SUV was unveiled in May 2023 during a showcase to King Mohammed VI.[2][3] Neo Motors is the first homegrown automobile company in Morocco.[4] The company began delivering their first models in December 2023.[5][6]

History

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Nassim Belkhayat began a project to manufacture fully Moroccan-made car in 2016.[7][8] The same year, a chassis based on the 1940 Jeep Willys was developed and designed for Neo Motors.[8][9] The project concretized in 2017, after Stellantis began the manufacturing of a car engine in the PSA Kénitra plant.[9][3] The company was registered in May 2018, and their chassis design was patented shortly afterwards.[8]

The production plant in Aïn El Aouda began construction in 2020. A car prototype underwent a crash test in 2022 and was subsequently approved by the National Agency for Road Safety in February 2023.[10][8] In May 2023, a prototype SUV was presented in the Royal Palace of Rabat, during a showcase of Moroccan-made vehicles to King Mohammed VI.[11][2] In June 2023, a model was presented at the GITEX Africa trade show in Marrakech.[10]

In November 2023, Belkhayat expressed a potential initial public offering at the Casablanca Stock Exchange as a future target.[4] In December 2023, the company delivered the first vehicles to customers during a ceremony attended by Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour and where they announced an extension of their Aïn El Aouda plant.[5][12]

Operations

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A Neo Motors model being presented at GITEX Africa in 2023

The Neo Motors production plant is based in Aïn El Aouda, near Rabat, and currently has more than 50 employees and a production capacity of 5,000 units.[8][13] The company's goal is to manufacture a car fully made in Morocco, with a 65% integration rate and only with Moroccan-made parts or through Moroccan suppliers.[9][3][14]

The engine is manufactured in Kénitra by Stellantis, the sheet metal by Maghreb Steel [fr] in Casablanca, the metal is bent at Technique Aciers before being welded by Socafix and the bodywork being made in Neo Motors' Aïn El Aouda plant.[9][8] The company signed an agreement with the Office of Vocational Training and Labor Promotion (OFPPT) to offer training in vehicle manufacturing.[12][15]

Models

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The first model, a three-door model named NEO is made of fully recyclable fiberglass. This compact SUV, sold for 175,000 dirham (US$17,400) for a three-cylinder engine and for 185,000 dirham (US$18,400) for a four-cylinder engineMSRP.[16] The manual transmission car, has the patented chassis based on the 1940 Jeep Willys, and has a retractable hardtop roof.[10][9]

References

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  1. ^ Nautylus, MA (2023-02-10). "Neo Motors Morocco - Headquarters". Google Maps. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  2. ^ a b "Présentation à SM le Roi d'un modèle de la 1ère marque automobile grand public marocaine". Maroc.ma (in French). 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  3. ^ a b c "«Vers un véhicule fiable, accessible et fabriqué localement»: les ambitions de Neo au Maroc". Arab News (in French). 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  4. ^ a b Karam, Souhail (2023-11-15). "Morocco's First Carmaker Plans IPO to Expand Into EV Production". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  5. ^ a b "Neo Motors livre ses premiers véhicules et lance l'extension de son usine". Infomédiaire (in French). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  6. ^ "Remise des premiers véhicules de Neo Motors à leurs propriétaires". Le Desk (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  7. ^ ""Neo Motors" une success story 100% marocaine. Le point avec Nassim Belkhayat". Medi1 News (in French). 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Ben Hayoun, Moncef. "Neo Motors: les révélations de Nassim Belkhayat". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  9. ^ a b c d e Brequeville, Brian (2023-05-16). "Neo Motors : commercialisation, production, financement, prix, taux d'intégration... Ce que l'on sait". Medias24 Le Boursier (in French).
  10. ^ a b c Webster, Nick (2023-06-02). "How Morocco's answer to Volkswagen aims to drive economic prosperity". The National. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  11. ^ "Automotive: Everything you need to know about NEO and HUV". L'Economiste (in French). 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  12. ^ a b "NEO MOTORS lance la commercialisation de sa voiture "NEO"". L'Economiste (in French). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  13. ^ كراخي, مراد; شافعي, محمد (2023-05-17). "من مصنع نيو موتورز.. هنا تُصنع أول سيارة مغربية". SNRT News (in Arabic).
  14. ^ Harrouchi, Mostapha (2023-05-24). "مصنع سيارة "نيو موتورز" المغربية تتلقى أول طلبية من السنغال". Le12.ma (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  15. ^ "Lancement de la commercialisation de la voiture NEO". Finance News Hebdo (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  16. ^ "Vehicles". NEO Motors.
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